Construction of a controversial replica of the Taj Mahal in Dubai will start next year, the developer has reportedly said. Taaj Arabia, which is inspired by India’s Taj Mahal mausoleum, would launch in 2018, Links Global Group told Emirates 24/7.

Work on the project had been due to start in June, 2013 but an executive said delays in the approval process had slowed down the construction schedule.

“There is no rejection from any party and the delay is because of various approvals we have to do… the process is taking time. Big projects have to go through various levels of approvals and big projects don’t come easy. We are doing a landmark, building a destination for the city of Dubai - and we need to do it very carefully,” the firm’s senior executive, Falah Al Salman, told the newspaper.

The Taaj Arabia will be stretched over 20 acres of land in Falcon City of Wonders in Dubailand. It will entail a 5-star hotel, 400 to 450 keys, 300 residential and serviced apartments, retail shops, a boutique arcade, and an indoor banqueting facility having a capacity of over 2,000 people.

Director of Link Global Group, Arun Mehra, said the Taaj Arabia was “not at all a replica” of the Taj Mahal, but a project “inspired by the monument of love.”

“It is not a replica… it is two times bigger than Taj Mahal. We will have many more features as we are creating a new destination. And, of course, it will have that “wow” factor.”

The Taaj’s wow factor will be a moonlight glow created through various lighting techniques. It will make the structure visible from afar. The Falcon City of Wonders, where the project is located, will feature structures based on international monuments like the Great Wall of China, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Egyptian Pyramids, and more.